Western Washington University has joined with the Pickford Film Center and KVOS TV-12 to provide a new, locally flavored show titled "The Pickford Classic Movie."

WWU English Professor Kaveh Askari will join Michael Falter, program director of Pickford Film Center, each week to provide trivia, little-known facts, interesting back story and conversation about a different classic film throughout the filmʼs airing.

The program will air at 8 p.m. on Sundays on KVOS TV channel 12.

Knute Skinner (English, emeritus) had his poems "The Two of Us," "A Great Change" and "Yellow Beer" published in "Staple," No. 72, Winter 2009 and Spring 2010, pp. 146-148.

Oliver de la Paz is a winner, plain and simple. Want proof? Well, there’s the $1,500 GAP Grant he was awarded last year from Artist Trust, which supports artist-generated projects in Washington.

Knute Skinner (English, emeritus) had his poems "Something in the Grass," "Today and Tomorrow" and "Routines" published in Ambit Magazine, Vol. 199, pp. 94-95.

William Smith (English) is the subject of a research article in the December 2009 issue of "College Communication and Composition," a peer-reviewed journal. The article, "Close to the Heart: Teacher Authority in a Classroom Community," has another Western connection: It was written by a team of WWU students in an English graduate seminar.

Christopher Wise (English) is editor of a new book scheduled to be released on Dec. 15.

The book includes an essay by WWU graduate student Matt Atwood, who graduated with his M.A. in English last year. Atwood wrote the essay on Azmi Bishara for an independent study he took from Wise.

The book also includes an essay from former WWU faculty member Fallou Ngom, a faculty member at WWU when the project was first started who then took a job at Boston University.

Hundreds of new children's and young adult books will be on sale at WWU in the upcoming Children's Literature Book Sale sponsored by the English Department.

The sale takes place from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Dec. 3 and from 9 a.m. to noon Dec. 4 in Wilson Library Room 171. The room is accessible from High Street.

Hundreds of new children's and young adult books will be on sale at WWU in the upcoming Children's Literature Book Sale sponsored by the English Department.

The sale takes place from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Dec. 3 and from 9 a.m. to noon Dec. 4 in Wilson Library Room 171. The room is accessible from High Street.

Knute Skinner (English, emeritus) has had his poem "Green Light" published in "The Stony Thursday Book," from The Arts Office of Limerick City Council. New Series No. 8, 2009, p. 30.

Christopher Wise (English) had an essay recently published titled "The Novel, Historiography, and the Griot Epic in the Sahel" in Gaurav Desai's book "Teaching the African Novel" (New York: MLA, 2009): pp. 154-175. This book is a volume in the Modern Language Association's "Options for Teaching" series.

Knute Skinner (English, emeritus) gave a reading of his poetry Oct. 17 at Glor, the theatre for arts in Ennis, Ireland. Skinner also had two poems -- "The Stairwell" and "The Hot Dog" -- published in "New Ohio Review," No. 6, Fall 2009, pp. 8-10.

Oliver de la Paz (English) has been awarded a $1,500 award from the Grants for Artist Projects program of Artist Trust. The award is for purchasing a laptop computer to aid the creation of a poetry book manuscript titled "Grace Equations." The poems, biographical and theological in nature, are deep-rooted observations that wrestle with the speaker's new identity as a father in a world filled with strife.

Knute Skinner (English, emeritus) gave a reading of his poetry at the White House Poets' Theatre in Limerick, Ireland, on Sept. 30. On Oct. 1, as part of the nationwide observance of National Poetry Day, he read at the De Valera Library in Ennis. Skinner's Web site is online at http://www.knuteskinner.com.

John Purdy (English) is having his new book "Writing Indian, Native Conversations" published by the University of Nebraska Press. The book will be released Thursday, Oct. 1.

From the publisher:

Knute Skinner (English, emeritus) had his poem "Old Postures" published on page 3 of "The Silt Reader," No. 11 (2009). Also, his poem "Morning and Afternoon" was published in "North American Review," Vol. 293, No. 5, p. 37.